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Golf: Sean O’Hair, Steve Stricker win QBE Shootout after O’Hair’s eagle

Steve Stricker reacts to his drive at the first hole as his partner, Sean O’Hair, gets ready to tee off during the second round of the QBE Shootout at Tiburón Gulf Club on Dec. 9.
(Logan Newell / Associated Press)
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Steve Stricker provided the pep talk and Sean O’Hair delivered the shot to secure victory Sunday in the QBE Shootout.

Stricker and O’Hair closed with an 8-under 64 for a two-shot victory over Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry, effectively clinching it when O’Hair made an eagle on the par-5 17th hole at Tiburon Golf Club.

In the final round of better ball, Stricker and O’Hair rallied from a two-shot deficit on the front nine, built a two-shot lead through 14 holes and were ahead by one shot heading to the reachable 17th with the green guarded by a huge bunker with a vetted, waist-high wall.

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“Walking to 17 tee, Steve said, `A 3 would go a long way right now,“’ O’Hair said.

O’Hair hit 7-iron from 195 yards over the bunker and it bounced onto the green about 12 feet away. McDowell and Lowry both hit into the bunker, with Lowry’s ball against the face of the wall that forced him to play sideways into the bunker. Both players had to settle for par, and O’Hair rolled in his eagle putt for a three-shot lead.

“He played great today,” Stricker said. “He hit a great shot on 17. That’s the stuff you need to do to win a tournament, and Sean pulled it off.”

Sharma leads suspended Joburg Open

India’s Shubhankar Sharma had a four-stroke lead in the Joburg Open with 11 holes left Sunday when lightning and heavy rain forced the suspension of play.

Making his 10th European Tour start, Sharma was 22 under at Randpark. He had a 61 on Friday on the Bushwillow Course and shot a 66 on Saturday on the Firethorn Course to take a five-stroke lead into the final round. On Sunday, Sharma birdied two of the first seven holes at Fitethorn before play was stopped for the day.

“I had to cancel my flight tickets today but that was an easy thing to do considering the position I’m in,” Sharma said.

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South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen was second. Play was suspended with Sharma on the eighth green, and Van Rooyen looking at a tap-in birdie on the ninth after birdieing four of the first eight.

Forty-two players were unable to complete the round.

Angel Yin wins Omega Dubai Ladies Classic

American Angel Yin won the Omega Dubai Ladies Classic in a playoff Sunday, beating South Korea’s In-Kyung Kim with a birdie on the second extra hole.

The 19-year-old Yin won with a tap-in birdie on the drivable 17th hole. The victory in the Ladies European Tour season finale is her first on a major tour.

“I feel amazing,” Yin said.

Yin closed with a 5-under 67, saving par on the par-5 18th after finding the water, to match Kim (65) and France’s Celine Herbin (64) at 15-under 273 at Emirates Golf Club.

Yin and Kim birdied the 18th on the first extra hole, and Herbin was eliminated after hitting into the water with her third shot.

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